The Brotherhood
by sssms
Summary: AU-TW characters in Vietnam. Partial list of characters - Sgt. Boscorelli, Corporal Doherty - sniper, Sully - supply sergeant, Lt. Johnson - Naval aviator, Faith - Red Cross Supervisor, Maritza Cruz as Mari - a Vietnamese prostitute and spy (use your ima
1. Default Chapter

I'm going to be brave and post this here. I'm not in the military so if some of the fine military detail is a little off, please bear with me. Hope you enjoy.

The Brotherhood

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

Alex Taylor looked around nervously as several Vietnamese men scurried about loading four Army helicopters. She was suddenly wondering what she was thinking when she volunteered with the Red Cross and agreed to come to Vietnam. The group that she was traveling with had dispersed earlier in the morning and she was left with only one companion. Looking over, she noticed the excitement on Holly Levine's face and wished that she could feel the same. Instead, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She looked up again to see two soldiers approaching. One of them was a tall black man, the other a much smaller man who looked Hispanic. Both of them looked young and a little afraid. And by the newness of their uniforms, she assumed that they too were new to Vietnam.

"Oh look, soldiers." Holly exclaimed. "Let's go meet them." Grabbing Alex by the arm she almost drug her towards the two.

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Jimmy Doherty glanced ahead looking for Ole Man Sam, only to see what looked like two newbies and a couple of Donut Dollies. "Looks like we have some new recruits." He commented.

"Looks like." Doc Parker replied as they approached the group.

Jimmy smiled at the two women tipping his helmet. "Ladies." As he looked over at the two young soldiers, they both snapped to attention and saluted.

"Private Davis reporting for duty, Sir." "Private Nieto reporting for duty, Sir."

"Relax guys. I'm not the one you need to be reporting to." Jimmy answered them. "Jimmy Doherty" He introduced himself, then pointed to Doc. "Doc Parker."

"Oh, you're a doctor?" Holly chimed in.

"No, just a medic." Doc replied with a smile. "And you are?"

"Holly. Holly Levine. And this is Alex Taylor. We're with the Red Cross." She answered excitedly.

An old Vietnamese man with a long white beard interrupted their conversation. "Good morning, Dohee." He spoke in broken English. "Where Sergeant Bosco?"

"I don't know, Sam. Maybe he was too tired from his night with Mari to get up on time." Jimmy replied with a smirk.

"Ah... Mari. Beautiful woman." Sam commented. "Shapely." He noted with a grin, as he brought both his hands down tracing curves in the air.

"You know Mari, Sam?" Jimmy questioned in amazement.

"Not that way, Dohee." Sam chuckled. "Mari too much woman for Ole Sam. I leave her to Sergeant Bosco." Patting Jimmy on the shoulder he turned to leave. "Have safe trip, Dohee." He commented, looking back over his shoulder.

"Dohee" Doc laughed.

"He can't say my name. What is he supposed to call me?" Jimmy quizzed.

"How about moron?" A voice from behind the group suggested.

"Well, it's about time you decided to join us, Sarge. Was Mari too much for you last night?" Jimmy asked.

Bosco just rolled his eyes.

Doc Parker cleared his throat to get Davis and Nieto's attention, then threw his hand up in a quick salute behind Bosco's back.

The two quickly caught on and again snapped to attention, saluting Bosco. "Private Davis...Private Nieto...reporting for duty, Sir." The two spoke, almost in unison.

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Alex tried to stretch out her cramped legs, but only managed to kick Sergeant Boscorelli in the shin. "Sorry." She muttered, quickly pulling her legs back.

"That's ok." Bosco replied with a slight smile. "It's a little cramped in here with the supplies."

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Holly Levine craned her neck trying to look around Carlos to see the Vietnamese countryside.

Carlos, tired of leaning back so she could see, finally suggested that they change seats so she could look directly out the opening in the side of the chopper.

"Better not." Grimaldi, the door gunner, spoke up. At their questioning looks, he explained. "If we take any fire from below, she'll be better off where she is. Less chance of her getting hit."

Holly's eyes widened and she leaned back into her seat, now satisfied with not seeing the countryside.  
  
Carlos, inched further away from the door himself, suddenly wishing he'd given Ty this seat. "How much farther?" He found himself asking.

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Bosco pulled his helmet off and pushed his sweaty hair back, placing the helmet upside down in his lap. Reaching into the band, he pulled out a small picture laminated picture and rubbed his thumb over the surface longingly.

Alex Taylor noticed the picture in Bosco's hand, but couldn't see it clearly. "Family?" She asked.

"Kids" Bosco replied sadly, turning the picture so Alex could see the two little blond haired girls and a baby boy.

"They're beautiful." Alex replied, then added, "I guess I assumed you were single. I....I mean, you're not wearing a wedding ring." She didn't make any comment on the conversations she'd overheard about Mari.

Bosco reached up and pulled two chains from behind his shirt. One held a set of dog tags and the other was a crucifix. A silver wedding band hung on the same chain as the crucifix. "The silver can reflex sunlight and may be enough to give away your position to the enemy." He explained. "I've been married for nine years. My highschool sweetheart." He pointed the children out one by one. "Rosie is seven. Mary Margaret is almost five. And Louie was born eight days after I shipped out for Nam."

Alex looked up at Bosco's face to see a mixture of sadness and pride. "You've never seen him?" She asked quietly.

Bosco shook his head, his blue eyes turning misty. "No, but I only have two months and twelve days to go." Placing the picture back in his helmet, he put it back on his head and turned away.

Alex swallowed hard and looked down at her shoes.

Suddenly she was thrown backward as huge rumbling sound filled the helicopter followed by a scream from Holly and an "Oh, Crap!" from Private Davis.

"Rocket" Grimaldi shouted. "We're hit, Joe." Grimaldi moved back away from the door, as small arms fire opened up on the chopper.

The chopper listed to one side and the engine sputtered.

Alex found herself suddenly pushed back against the wall by Sergeant Boscorelli.

Joe O'Reilly, the pilot, radioed in. "This is Bearcat to base...Bearcat to base....do you copy? We're hit....we're going down..."


	2. The Brotherhood, Chapter 2

The Brotherhood, Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

Alex struggled to get her bearings as the horrendous noise died down. She felt hands on her shoulders as she was pulled upward. She soon found herself looking up into Sergeant Boscorelli's face. She could see his lips moving, but couldn't make out what he was saying at first.

"Are you ok?" Bosco repeated.

"Uh....you're...you're bleeding." Alex muttered, focusing on the blood trickling down from a cut over Bosco's left eye.

"I'm fine. Are you ok?" Bosco repeated, shaking Alex slightly.

"I....think so." Alex replied uncertainly.

"Come on. You have to get out." Bosco instructed as he pulled Alex toward the opening in the right side of the helicopter, which was on a slight incline since the chopper was tilted to it's left side. "Sit" he instructed as she got to the edge.

Alex did as told, looking out to see thick jungle surrounding them.

"Doherty." Bosco called out, motioning to Alex once Jimmy turned.

Jimmy quickly helped Alex down. "There you go, little lady."

"Thanks" Alex mumbled, then headed over to see if Holly was ok.

Bosco meanwhile turned back to Doc and Grimaldi, who were hovering over the pilot.

"Doc?" he questioned.

"He's in pretty bad shape, Bosco. I don't know if we can move him." Doc reported.

"Hey, Bosco." Jimmy Doherty called from the side of the chopper. "We've got a fuel leak."

Bosco turned back to Jimmy. "How bad?"

"Bad enough."

"Ok, scout out the area. When you find a good spot, take Davis, Nieto, and whatever you think will be useful from the chopper and set up a defensive perimeter. And stay alert. This place may be swarming with VC any minute." Bosco instructed.

"We gotta move, Doc." Bosco informed the medic.

"Yeah, I heard." Doc answered. Turning back to the pilot, he spoke to him quietly. "Ok Joe. We're gonna have to get you out of here, buddy. Ok?"

"Sure Doc." Joe wheezed. "Just do what you gotta do."

"Ok, Marco. I'll get his upper body and you get his legs." Doc instructed.

"Ahhhhhhhh."

Joe screamed out, as the two began to lift him.

"Shhhhhh.." Bosco motioned for Doc to try to keep Joe quiet so the Viet Cong would not be alerted to their location.

"I'm sorry." Joe mumbled.

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Bosco nodded at Jimmy, satisfied with the area that he'd chosen for them. There was an area where the ground sunk lower than the surrounding terrain. To their front there were a few fallen trees and brush; and beyond that was a fairly open area that the VC would have to cross if they approached from that direction. Dense jungle was on either side. And behind them the land dropped off into a hill with dense foliage along the steep bank.

The area had its pros and cons. On the one hand, there was less area to defend since no one in their right minds would try to charge up the bank. But on the other hand, if their position were overrun, it would be almost impossible to get an injured man and two women down the incline quickly. Bosco only hoped that if the Viet Cong located them, they could manage to keep them at bay long enough for their own reinforcements to arrive.

"This might come in handy." Jimmy commented as he pulled a 60mm M19 mortar out of a wooden crate and showed it to Bosco. "Got a couple of boxes of rounds." He commented pointing to two closed wooden boxes.

"Yeah, you better set it up. I have a feeling the VC will find us before our guys do." Bosco turned and approached Carlos who was trying to work a portable radio. "You get anything yet?"

"No, Sergeant. Nothing." Carlos answered, obviously distressed.

"Well, the other pilots saw us go down. They should be able to get us some help." Bosco tried to reassure him, while failing to reassure himself.

Seeing Holly Levine approach him out of the corner of his eye, he turned toward her. "What?" He asked.

"You're a....you're bleeding, Sergeant." Holly pointed out as she dabbed at the cut above Bosco's eye with a handkerchief.

Bosco stepped back and pushed Holly's hand away. "I'm fine." He grumbled. "Go help Doc with O'Reilly."

"Ok." Holly replied and turned away mumbling under her breath, "I was just trying to help; you don't have to get all huffy about it."

As she approached, Alex was helping Doc with the pilot's bandages. "Sergeant Boscorelli can be a real grump." She commented.

"He's probably just worried about having you ladies out here with us." Doc replied.

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Bosco eased over to the side of their encampment when no one was looking. Kneeling on one knee, he reached inside his flack jacket and pulled out a brown envelope, hiding it under a fallen tree and covering it with leaves. He had a bad feeling about things. And if the Viet Cong managed to take any of them alive, he didn't want them to find information about their own supply routes on him. Being a prisoner of the VC would be unpleasant enough without that. Fortunately, he had memorized a lot of the information the night before just in case anything unusual happened.

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Jimmy glanced over at Ty Davis. The kid looked scared to death and what he had to tell him wasn't going to bring any comfort, but it needed to be said. "Hey Davis." He said in a coarse whisper.

"Uh...yeah." Davis answered.

"Whatever happens, you make sure that you keep a couple of bullets on you at all times. No matter what, we make sure that the VC don't take either of the women alive. Do you understand me, Davis?"

Ty nodded his head slowly. He understood what Jimmy was saying, but he couldn't believe he was hearing it. Glancing over at Grimaldi, he saw the seasoned door gunner nodding in agreement.

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Bosco let out a slow breath, as sweat trickled down his back. They had finally contacted the base and knew that they were a good 20-30 minutes away from a rescue attempt. But there was someone a lot closer. Bosco could tell by the movements of two birds in the trees above them.

Jimmy turned to open one of the boxes of mortar rounds, but what he found was not what he expected. Opening the other box quickly, he shook his head. "Sarge." He called quietly, pointing to the open boxes.

Bosco crept over closer and peered into a box of three-inch nails. Looking over at Grimaldi, he mouthed, "Nails?"

Grimaldi whispered back, "Sullivan."

"Mortar rounds?"

"Must be on one of the other choppers. Ole Sam had the supplies loaded." Grimaldi answered.

Bosco looked back wearily toward Doc and the two Red Cross volunteers who were still working with O'Reilly.

A twig snapping.....a twig snapping in the distance was the faint signal that the time was here.

"Sarge" Carlos began to whisper to Bosco, but stopped when Bosco's finger came up to his lips, then pointed out towards the opening ahead of them.

"Get down." Bosco ordered suddenly, pushing Carlos's head down as a barrage of bullets descended on them.

Carlos stayed low, frozen as gunfire erupted all around him. He heard a stifled scream from Holly Levine and looked up to see Holly and Alex huddled together with Doc hovering over O'Reilly.

Sergeant Boscorelli opened fire on the enemy, completely focused on the task at hand.

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Ty jumped slightly, then stared in fascinated horror as a hand grenade dropped onto the ground beside him. Everything moved in slow motion, as he saw Grimaldi abandon his machine gun that they'd brought from the helicopter, grab the grenade and fling it back towards the enemy. The action exposed Grimaldi to enemy fire and he staggered backwards and fell as he took a round in the left shoulder.

Jimmy seeing this happen, immediately manned the machine gun, swinging it on its tripod, firing across the width of the open area.

The firefight continued with the VC advancing, then retreating several times before the firing stopped.

Carlos took in a deep breath. "Is it over?" He sputtered.

"No, it's not over. They're just regrouping." Bosco replied, looking over at Jimmy, then back at the mortar that lay propped against one of the boxes of nails. Suddenly scrambling over to the weapon, he motioned for Jimmy to join him.

Jimmy motioned for Ty to take over the machine gun. At Ty's uncertain look, he commented, "Just shoot anything that moves out there."

Jimmy turned to Bosco. "What are you thinking?" He asked.

"Here, hold this." Bosco replied, handing him the mortar. Taking off his helmet, he scooped it full of nails and poured them down the barrel of the weapon.

Jimmy began to grin as he realized what Bosco was doing. Once the barrel was full, he maneuvered the mortar up against his shoulder and aimed towards the open area, waiting for the VC to charge again.

Carlos looking on in confusion, asked, "Sarge, isn't that bad for the barrel?"

"Definitely." Bosco replied, just as the VC came charging across the clearing again.

Jimmy fired the mortar, slinging nails across the jungle with a pattern that reminded him of a shotgun, only wider and with a lot more velocity.

Three men dropped in their tracks and the others retreated, some staggering back, crying out in agony as the nails pierced their flesh.

Ty instinctively pulled the trigger on the machine gun, his eyes closing as he fired randomly.

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All was quiet, at least on their end. The VC retreated and were not brave enough to charge the clearing again. At one point they heard movement off in the denser jungle, but they only had to fire the mortar once more for that to stop. Now, just a little way off, they heard more firing and knew that their own rescuers had engaged the enemy.

Another fifteen minutes and all was quiet once again.

Carlos and Ty both jumped as they heard movement in the jungle ahead of them.

"Hold your fire." Sergeant Boscorelli instructed. Seeing an American uniform creeping along the edge of the thick brush, he called out to them.

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Ty froze as he crossed the clearing, staring down at one of the enemy dead who had a huge hole in the middle of his chest. Looking at the man's face, he realized that he was just a boy, no older than seventeen or eighteen at the most.

Jimmy Doherty stopped beside him, clapping him on the back. "You did good, Davis." He said, nodding his approval.

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Alex was never so glad to see an Army helicopter in all her life. As the chopper touched down in a clearing, the elated group emerged from the edge of the jungle and started to climb aboard. A large hand reached out and grabbed Alex's hand, pulling her up quickly. Holly Levine was soon pulled aboard in the same manner.

Bosco, having brought up the rear in order to retrieve the envelope he'd hidden, climbed aboard last. "Boy, am I glad to see your ugly mug, DK." He commented.

"You just can't stay out of trouble can you Boscorelli?" DK replied.

Bosco just shook his head.

Billy Walsh looked back over his shoulder as he lifted the chopper off of the ground. Spotting the two women in the group, he smiled. "Welcome to Vietnam, Ladies."


	3. The Brotherhood, Chapter 3

The Brotherhood, Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

Faith Mitchell watched anxiously as the wounded were removed from one of the choppers. Glancing down as the two men were carried past her towards the hospital, she was relieved to see that Bosco was not one of them. Glancing up again, she saw Bosco helping two women from one of the choppers. She assumed that they were her new volunteers. She watched them approach, noticing that Bosco stayed behind talking to Jimmy Doherty and two younger soldiers she had not seen before.

"Are you Taylor and Levine?" She asked.

"Yes" the shorter of the blonds replied. The taller just nodded, her eyes huge.

Faith could only imagine what they had witnessed. Bosco shared some things with her, but she also knew that he held back some of the more gruesome details.

"Ok, well, you can go inside and let Mary Proctor check you over. Then we'll get you settled in." Faith replied, pointing to the hospital building.

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"Doherty, can you introduce these two to Christopher? I need to report to Swersky."

"No problem, Sarge." Jimmy replied with a smile, knowing Christopher would eat these two alive.

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Bosco turned away from Jimmy, running directly into John Sullivan, the supply sergeant, as he did.

"I don't guess you managed to salvage any of my nails, huh?" Sully grumbled.

"Nope. Sorry, Sul." Bosco answered and made his way towards Faith.

"You're bleeding." Sully called over his shoulder.

Bosco just wave him off.

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Faith stood with her arms crossed as Bosco approached her. She was waiting to give him a hard time for the terrified looks on the new girls' faces. But her expression softened as she saw the gash above his left eye. "You're bleeding." She commented as she turned his head gently to get a better look at the cut. Most of the blood was dry, but it was still oozing.

"It's not that bad." He replied softly.

"It's gonna need stitches. At least three or four, maybe more." She informed him. Releasing his face, she teased him. "That's what you get for scaring my new girls."

"They're just a little shell shocked. They'll be ok. You should thank me for breaking them in for you." He replied with a smile.

"Uh huh." She said, unconvinced. "Come on, let's get that cleaned up."

"I have to talk to Swersky first." "I'll be back later." He added quickly as he saw that she was about to protest.

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Sasha Monroe looked up from her desk as the door opened and Bosco came in. Standing, she craned her neck to see the gash over Bosco's left eye. "That's a nasty cut, Bosco."

"It's not as bad as it looks. Is Swersky in?" Bosco replied.

"Yes. Let me see if he's available." Sasha answered. Sitting back down, she dialed the phone. "Major Swersky, Sergeant Boscorelli is here to see you. Sure. I'll send him in." Looking back at Bosco, she nodded towards Swersky's office.

"Thanks, Monroe."

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"Boscorelli" Swersky greeted, looking up from the papers he was working on.

Bosco saluted and stood at attention.

"At ease." Swersky instructed.

Bosco reached inside his flack jacket and pulled the brown envelope out, handing it to Swersky.

Swersky studied the contents of the envelope for several minutes, before looking back up at Bosco. "Are you sure we can trust her?"

"Has she failed us yet?" Bosco questioned.

"No, but men's lives are depending on this, Bosco. How do we know she's not working both sides?"

"Her husband was killed by the Viet Cong, Sir. Besides, she hasn't asked us for anything. If she was playing both sides, why would she give us information for free?" Bosco answered. "I trust her, Sir."

"And I'm trusting you, Bosco. I'll discuss this information with the higher ups. You're dismissed." Swersky replied.

Bosco saluted again and turned to leave.

"Oh....and Bosco, get somebody to look at that cut." Swersky called.

"Yes, Sir."

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"Owww!" Bosco whined as Faith cleaned his cut vigorously. "Take it easy."

"You know Proctor likes her cuts clean before she sutures them." Faith retorted.

"Proctor? Why Proctor? What about Dr. Thomas?"

"Dr. Thomas is still in the OR with O'Reilly. Proctor's the only one available." Faith answered with a smirk.

"But she's not even a doctor. She's just a nurse." Bosco argued.

"Uh huh." Faith continued to probe at the wound to make sure there were no foreign materials in it.

"Well, she's not. And she's too rough." Bosco crossed his arms over his chest, a frown on his face.

Faith chuckled. Bosco looked like a little boy when he pouted. "Suck it up, tough guy."

"Yeah, suck it up, tough guy." Mary Proctor bellowed at Bosco, a syringe and needle in her hand and a glint in her eye.

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"Some friend you are." Bosco commented to Faith as they moved along the food line.

"Hey, what could I do? Besides, Proctor is at least good at what she does. You'd probably have a bigger scar if Dr. Thomas sutured it up in a hurry." Faith replied.

"Uh huh." Bosco mumbled, watching as Fred Yokas placed a small portion of banana pudding on his plate. Looking up, he saw the smirk on Fred's face. "That's only half a spoon full." He protested. Shaking his head, he moved on down the line. He didn't understand what Fred had against him.

Fred smiled as he heaped the banana pudding on Faith's plate. "How are you doing tonight, Faith?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Faith answered, looking over and seeing the irritation on Bosco's face.

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"How are you doing tonight, Faith?" Bosco whined, mocking Fred, and causing Faith to roll her eyes. "What?" Bosco asked. "He intentionally gave me a smaller helping of banana pudding because he knows I like it. And then he gives you two spoons. What did I ever do to the guy?"

"Oh, I don't know, Bos. Maybe it's your charming personality." Faith snickered.

"It's not funny, Yokas. I've never done anything to make Fred dislike me." Bosco argued.

"I think maybe he's jealous." Faith answered.

"Jealous of what?" Bosco asked.

"Jealous of us. He, like a lot of others, seems to thing that the two of us have something going on." Faith replied, pointing between herself and Bosco.

"Us? You mean, we don't?" Bosco questioned, looking astonished, then cracking a grin.

"We might as well." Faith answered. "Every guy around here is hands off, because they don't want to move in on your territory."

Bosco chuckled. "That's ridiculous. But even so, you can do a lot better than Freddy boy."

"He's not that bad, Bosco. He can be really sweet when he wants to be." Faith argued.

"Fred....sweet. You've been out in the jungle heat too long, Faith. Besides he gypped me on my banana pudding." Bosco reminded her.

"Here." Faith responded, dumping half of her banana pudding on Bosco's plate. "Enough about the banana pudding."

Bosco looked down at the blob of pudding on his plate. "I didn't want your pudding. That's not the point. The point is he did it to spite me."

Faith rolled her eyes again. "Well I'll take it back then."

Bosco pulled his plate away as Faith reached out with her spoon. "Uh uh, it's mine now."

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Ty and Carlos sat quietly at a table by themselves, neither of them eating very much.

"You're not eating?" Carlos questioned.

"No appetite." Ty answered. "I can't get that gunfight off of my mind. I killed a kid, Carlos. Blew a hole in his chest the size of a football."

"Yeah....well, at least you did something. I just froze. Cowering on the ground like an idiot right next to Boscorrelli." Carlos replied.

"What did he say?" Ty asked.

"He didn't say anything, but he had to have noticed." Carlos answered.

"Doherty patted me on the back and said I'd done good." Ty reported. "Makes me feel sick to my stomach."

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"What about the new guys?" Faith asked Bosco, looking over at Ty and Carlos.

"I think they both freaked out a little when the shooting started. But they'll be ok in a few weeks, if I can keep them alive that long." Bosco answered solemnly.


	4. The Brotherhood, Chapter 4

The Brotherhood, Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

"What?" Sully grumbled, looking over the counter at the two grunts standing before him.

"Um… Sergeant Boscorelli, uh..wanted us to pick up some supplies." Ty muttered.

"Bosco, huh. He knows I'm doing inventory today." Sully replied, crossing his arms.

"We're um….going out on patrol tomorrow. Some special mission or something." Ty reported.

"Special mission, huh." Sully took the list from the young soldier's hand, glancing up at his name tag as he did. "Davis. Where are you from, Davis?" He asked curiously.

"New York City." Ty answered.

Sully looked at the young man closely. There was something about that face. "You wouldn't have a relative named Tyrone Davis, would you?"

"My father was Tyrone Davis." Ty replied.

"I knew you looked familiar. You're Ty, Junior?" Sully questioned.

"Well, I'll be." Sully commented, as Ty shook his head. "It's a small world. I'm John Sullivan. Your dad and I served together when we first enlisted. How's he doing?" Sully asked. "Didn't he join the NYPD?"

"He did." Ty answered, then quietly added, "He was killed in the line of duty."

"Oh" Sully frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Your dad was a good man. Is your mom doing ok?" Sully asked.

"She's doing great. Well, except for worrying about me being over here." Ty replied.

"Yeah, I'm sure she is. Well, if you need something Davis, anything, just let me know." Sully urged him, clapping him on the shoulder. "Now, let's see about this list of supplies."

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Faith sat down at the table where Bosco was scribbling something on a piece of paper. "What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

Bosco glanced up quickly. "Oh, hey. I'm just replying to a letter from Ma, before we go out again."

"How's she doing?"

"She's fine. She's seeing some new guy. And keeping an eye on Gina and the kids for me. Says they're growing like weeds. Apparently Louie has my temper." Bosco grinned.

"Oh, yeah? Poor kid." Faith replied. "How's Mikey?"

"Mikey is Mikey. He'll never change. He's still out protesting the war. Get this. Ma's afraid he's been smoking marijuana." Bosco chuckled, then became more serious. "I hate to tell her, but Mikey graduated from marijuana a long time ago."

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Carlos swatted at the mosquito that buzzed around his ear, then adjusted the pack on his back. It seemed as if they'd been trudging through the jungle for days and it had only been a couple of hours. Sighing, he played with the straps on his backpack, trying to make it feel lighter.

Jimmy Doherty, who was watching from behind him, moved up to his side. "It's too full. What do you have in there?"

"Just the necessities." Carlos assured him. "Fresh clothes, blanket, poncho, but mostly rations."

Jimmy shook his head. "Those rations are the problem. All those tin cans start weighing you down. You should dump most of them and lighten your load."

"But, we don't know how long we'll be out here. What will I eat?" Carlos asked, confused.

"You'll live off of the land, like the rest of us have learned to do. Your stomach may grumble occasionally, but your back and feet will love you for it." Jimmy explained quietly.

Carlos looked around him at the thick jungle. "What is there out here to live on?"

"What is there not?" Jimmy asked. "Berries, roots, leaves…so long as you avoid the poisonous ones. And then the occasional snake, frog, or even beetles to get your protein." Jimmy grinned as Carlos' face paled. "Or you can just carry that heavy pack."

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Ty Davis shifted, trying to get comfortable. They had slept the last night in the middle of the jungle. Well, some of them had slept. Ty had been too afraid to close his eyes until he was unable to hold them open any longer. Then this morning they had moved into position. Now, five hours later they were still lying on their bellies in the damp leaves and dirt that covered the jungle floor, waiting for a Viet Cong supply caravan. Ty still didn't understand how their platoon had been selected to carry out the initial direct assault, rather than to be one of those selected to ambush the caravan. Lost in his thoughts, he let his eyes drift shut until he felt a hand nudging him on the arm. Looking up quickly, he saw Joey Bartoni inching closer to him and Sergeant Boscorelli to Joey's right.

"Stay focused kid." Joey whispered. "It won't be long now."

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As Ty soon found out, Bartoni was right. In a matter of minutes, the VC caravan was in their midst and Sergeant Boscorelli gave the signal to attack.

Bullets hissed through the air and men screamed. Ty tried to keep firing despite the mud and leaves splattering his face as bullets landed a little too close. Joey Bartoni yelled out beside him. After what seemed like an eternity, the firing finally slowed and the smoke began to clear.

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Ty leaned back on his heals, as the voices around him began to slowly sink in. Looking around, he saw Sergeant Boscorelli on his knees at Joey Bartoni's side.

"DOC! Get over here!" Bosco shouted. "I'm sorry." He apologized as Joey moaned when Bosco applied pressure to the wound in his abdomen. "Just hang on. Davis, get me some bandages, a t-shirt, anything." Bosco ordered.

Ty fumbled around in his pack and came up with a spare t-shirt, handing it to Bosco.

"Ok, Joey, just take it easy. I've gotta try to stop the bleeding." Bosco advised, as he placed the folded shirt over the wound and pressed down hard.

"AHHHHHHHHHH! God, help me. It hurts. Please. Help me." Joey cried.

"DOC!" Bosco screamed again. Looking over, he saw Doc working frantically on another wounded man. He didn't see the other platoon medic, Bobby Caffey. "Here, Davis." Bosco motioned Ty Davis closer. "Hold pressure on this while I get Doc or Bobby over here."

"NO" Bartoni yelped, grabbing Bosco's arm. "Don't leave me, Bosco. Please." He pleaded, tears streaming down his face. "I don't want to die with some stranger. Please."

"You're not gonna die, Joey. You'll be fine, but I need to find Bobby or Doc." Bosco urged.

"No." Joey shook his head, calming suddenly. "No, I'm not going to be fine. It's ok. Just don't leave me, Sarge." He replied, holding onto Bosco's arm.

"Joey" Bosco started, only to be interrupted.

"Are you Catholic, Sarge?" Joey asked quietly.

"Of course, I'm Catholic. How could I have a name like Boscorelli and not be Catholic?" Bosco answered, trying to lighten the moment a bit.

Joey smiled. "Then you can take my confession and…" Joey groaned, closing his eyes tightly. "and pray for me?"

"I…I'll find the chaplain." Bosco sputtered.

"No time." Joey whispered, his eyes pleading with Bosco.

"Yeah, ok." Bosco finally conceded.

Ty looked on in stunned silence, as the two recited the Lord's Prayer. Then Joey gave his confession to Bosco and Bosco offered up a prayer for forgiveness.

"Thanks, Sarge." Joey mumbled, his eyes closing.

"Yeah. You're welcome." Bosco whispered back, holding Joey's hand in his right while resting the other on Joey's shoulder. He dropped his head forward, tears streaming down his face, as Joey's hand went limp in his.

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Disclaimer #2: I'm not Catholic. Much thanks to a friend for answering my questions regarding the last section.


	5. The Brotherhood, Chapter 5

The Brotherhood, Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

Just as quickly as he'd broken down, Bosco's expression turned cold. He wiped his eyes hard with the back or his forearm, then wiped the blood on his hands on Joey's pants leg. Turning, he dug through Joey's pack and pulled out his poncho. Rising shakily to his feet, he took one last look at Joey's lifeless brown eyes before draping the poncho over his body. "Come on, Davis." He commented, stepping over the body, and heading out to find Lieutenant Christopher.

Ty Davis gave Bosco an odd look, then followed behind him.

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"Boscorelli, are you hurt?" Christopher grumbled seeing the blood on Bosco's arms and uniform.

"No, I'm fine." Bosco replied.

"Good. We're in charge of the prisoners. Take… a…"

"Davis" Bosco interjected.

"Yeah, take Davis and go help Doherty. We're moving back towards the clearing along the river a few miles back as soon as they're all secured and the wounded can be moved. We'll evacuate the wounded from there and wait on transport for the prisoners." Christopher instructed.

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While Bosco stopped to talk with Jason Christopher, Ty spotted Carlos a few yards away helping Doc and Bobby Caffey with the wounded.

When Carlos glanced up, their eyes met. Carlos could only shake his head sadly. Never in his worst nightmares about Vietnam did he imagine anything like he'd seen today.

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"DAVIS! What are you doing?" Jason Christopher shouted, grabbing the canteen Davis was holding and pulling it away.

"I…he…was thirsty. He kept motioning to it." Davis tried to explain.

Christopher pulled Davis to his feet. "Did anybody tell you to get within reach of the prisoners? You're supposed to be standing guard, ready to shoot any one of them that tries to get away! Not giving them your water!"

"I…I was just trying to help, Sir. It must be ninety-five degrees out here and we marched them a long way, Sir." Ty muttered.

"Are you in charge of this platoon, Davis? Huh?"

"No" Ty replied quietly.

"NO! NO WHAT, SOLDIER?" Christopher yelled.

"No, Sir…Sir." Ty stammered.

"So you want to be helpful? I'll find you something to do then." Turning away, a smirk on his face, Lieutenant Christopher walked over and retrieved an empty 5 gallon bucket, then returned and handed it to Ty. "Take this to the river and get them some water." At Ty's confused look, he prodded. "Go on. Get them some water."

Ty hesitantly took the bucket from the lieutenant, then glanced back down at the prisoner beside him and offered him a reassuring smile.

The boy was young, probably no older than seventeen or eighteen. His clothes were worn and soaked with sweat, his face thin and haggard. Blood oozed from a wound on his arm. He was kneeling on his knees, his hands tied behind his back. He glanced nervously from Ty Davis to Jason Christopher, finally resting his gaze on Ty's smiling face.

"Well don't just stand there!" Christopher snapped, bringing Ty's attention back to him.

"Yes, Sir." Ty replied and headed towards the river.

"What?" Christopher asked gruffly when he saw the disgusted look on Bosco's face. "You know, there were only half as many supplies in that caravan as we expected, which means either our anonymous informant was wrong or somewhere along the way a group split off. They either suspected an attack from us or they're supplying another force that's planning an attack. These guys know what happened and why. And they're going to tell me."

Bosco looked away from Christopher, glancing at Jimmy Doherty long enough to see Jimmy shrug his shoulders and turn back to guarding the prisoners. Bosco knew that it was more likely that Mari and her informants had overestimated the amount of supplies being moved. But he also realized that Christopher was out to make a name for himself and would stop at nothing.

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Ty looked on in horror as Jason Christopher grabbed a handful of the young prisoner's hair and shoved his head down into the bucket of water, holding him under as the boy struggled frantically. After what seemed like an eternity to Ty, Christopher jerked the boy back up as his Vietnamese interpreter screamed in the boy's face. The boy cried out in Vietnamese trying to get the two to stop, but was shoved down again when the interpreter shook his head apparently not hearing what he wanted to hear.

After an even longer period, Christopher pulled the boy up again. This time the interpreter slapped his face, still yelling at him. The boy mumbled frantically in Vietnamese, but again could not satisfy his captors.

Ty, could feel his panic growing each time the boy's head was pushed back under the water. This had to stop. Someone had to stop it.

Turning to where he'd last seen Sergeant Boscorelli, he was surprised to see Bosco with his back turned, smoking a cigarette, as if he were totally unaware of what was going on just a few feet behind him.

"Sarge?" Ty called out, as he rushed to Bosco's side.

Bosco never looked at him, but instead raised the cigarette to his lips again and took a long drag, his hand trembling slightly. Holding the breath in for a few moments, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. When he spoke, his voice was almost a whisper. "Go guard the perimeter, Davis."

Ty shook his head and turned back to the horrifying scene before him just as Christopher pulled the boy up again. The boy coughed violently trying to regain his breath, shear terror evident on his face.

As Christopher pushed the prisoner's head down again, Ty took a step forward opening his mouth to protest until a hand caught his shoulder.

"Stay out of it." Jimmy Doherty warned, as Ty stared at him in disbelief.

Ty shook Jimmy's hand from his shoulder and started back towards Christopher. He stopped abruptly when he saw the boy's lifeless body slump to the ground after Christopher pulled him up one last time. The Vietnamese interpreter moved forward placing two fingers on the boy's neck, then looked back up and shook his head.

Lieutenant Christopher gave a half-shrug and pointed to another of the prisoners. "Maybe this one will be ready to talk."

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Ty sat in the darkness wrapped in his blanket, but still shaking, his brain trying to process all that had happened during the day. He barely noticed as Jimmy Doherty sat down beside him.

"You ok, kid?" Jimmy asked.

Ty shook his head. "No" he answered quietly.

"It was a tough day. It'll get better." Jimmy assured him.

"A tough day? Christopher murdered a prisoner, while the rest of you stood by and watched. And you call it a tough day? What's wrong with you people?" Ty questioned.

"This is a war, Davis. It's not going to be pretty." Jimmy replied.

"War or not. Isn't torturing prisoners against the rules of combat?" Ty asked.

"Yeah, well, it's unfortunate, but the rules of the jungle and the rules of combat don't always match up. Besides do you know what would happen to any one of us if the situation were reversed and we were captured by the Vietcong? You can't even imagine."

"Is that supposed to make it right? We can do it to them because they'd do the same to us or worse. If we accept that, then we're no better than they are." Ty argued.

"Who knows what's right or wrong out here anymore, Davis? I don't. But I know its reality." Jimmy answered.


End file.
